Software-Programming

The long-rumored geolocation "check-in" feature at Facebook is slated to debut within weeks, multiple sources familiar with the matter told CNET.

It's going to take the form of an application programming interface (API) for third-party companies on the Facebook developer platform, integrating existing "check-in" start-ups more deeply into the massive social-networking service and in turn permitting location-aware data to become a part of existing platform applications.

Android 2.2, the latest version of Google’s mobile operating system that is now being deployed to popular devices like the Droid and Evo, is a speed demon. Unfortunately, it’s also tone-deaf: the OS comes with a strage flaw that makes your headphones sound like a pair of tin cans whenever you tune into a streaming music service like Pandora or MOG. Music that sounds great on the same device running an older version of Android suddenly sounds muddy with tinny highs — you can make out the notes and lyrics, but they’re no longer enjoyable to listen to.

One-click rooting is no longer available from the App Market. Despite their more liberal stance towards such things, it appears that Google's tolerance for phone hackers has a limit. Androinica reports that the EasyRoot app has been removed from the Market. We first reported on this .99 cent one-click root app last week.

The Foxit document reader has been updated to fix the same critical bug that currently leaves iPhones, iPads, and iPod touches wide open to malware attacks.

Foxit Reader version 4.1.1.0805 “fixes the crash issue caused by the new iPhone/iPad jailbreak program which can be exploited to inject arbitrary code into a system and execute it there,” Foxit officials said. They recommend that users install the update to protect themselves.

Whether the customer has an I-Phone or an Android device, security has always been an issue. We are all well aware of the hazards of accessing the web, which is forever under attack by advertisers, spammers, hackers and malicious code juicers. It is natural to ask the same questions about a tiny computer that accesses the web and that downloads so much material from our computers.

Open source browser vendor Mozilla is readying an ambitious new release of its Firefox Web browser. The third beta of Firefox 4, set to debut sometime this month, is expected to include more stability, features and performance improvements over earlier versions.

In a bid to harvest more top-tier games for the Mac version of Steam, Half-Life creator Valve plans to offer its Mac graphics code to third-party game developers.

In a revealing interview with game dev site Gamesindustry.biz today, Valve's director of business development, Jason Holtman, revealed that his pals at Valve are "going to release some of our graphics code for the GL layer."

The IT world has overcome much of its skittishness regarding the use of open source projects. It obviously wasn't always that way, and plenty of IT shops still refuse to consider open source alternatives to commercial solutions. But most folks have come around to the fact that open source tools are a great asset to any organization and won't actually set fire to your data center or ransack the break room, no matter what the sales droids say.

BlackBerry software leaks lately, and BlackBerry OS 6 is the most recent one. While the build is only for the coming BlackBerry Bold 9800 (codenamed ‘Torch’ or ‘Slider’), some ingenious hackers can probably get it up and running for other models. That may be your only option if want OS 6 and are stuck with a BlackBerry with only 256MB of RAM, as it looks like they might be passed over due to “hardware limitations” or something along those lines.

It looks like Motorola has a heart after all – the manufacturer has released the source code for their best device to date, the Verizon Motorola Droid X. This is pretty exciting if you’re a developer or hacker, but there are a few hang ups.